Bill: Ban indoor tanning for teens

Health risks cited; industry says don't kick sand on our business

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, May 13, 2010

ALBANY -- Just in time for summer, a bill moving through the Legislature would ban indoor tanning by anyone under age 18.

The bill would replace a state law now requiring parental permission before young people ages 14-18 can tan artificially.

Several states -- including New York, California, North Carolina and New Jersey -- already ban children under 14 from receiving artificial tans.

In addition to noting the possible danger of skin damage, the bill's language notes that studies show tanning can become addictive.

The legislation is being called the "New York Teen Tan Ban" by the Washington-based Indoor Tanning Association, which is trying to rally tanning-booth operators and their suppliers to protest the measure.

If passed, the bill "would have a very negative impact on your business and take away a very basic right of parents -- the right to decide whether or not a teen can suntan indoors," says a recent e-mail from the ITA to its New York state members.

"We're opposed to it for the commercial reasons, but we're also opposed to it philosophically," said John Overstreet, executive director of the ITA. "I don't think the government has any business telling me my kid can get a suntan. ... To me, that is nanny government run amok."

Overstreet said that, if implemented, New York's law would be the only statewide under-18 tan ban in the nation. (Maryland's Howard County has an under-18 ban.)

He added that several similar bans have been considered in state legislatures, but have died in committee or on the floor.

In January, the ITA settled a complaint brought by the Federal Trade Commission that alleged it had been deceptive in its claims about the potential health consequences of indoor tanning.

"Tanning before the age of 18 is sadly one of those things that many people live to regret," said Weisenberg, also a veteran lifeguard. He noted that research demonstrates that nearly a quarter of all sun-induced skin damage has been inflicted by age 18.

Johnson's spokesman Rich Azzopardi said that skin cancer was "a very real problem on Long Island, and educating the public on this issue has been a signature issue" for the senator.